Claudia Benelli, President, Ferrarini & Benelli, explains to Packaging MEA her vision and strategy, which blends the personal touch with putting a premium on keeping up to speed with the latest technologies
From her office in the headquarters of the company in Romanengo, Italy, Claudia Benelli oversees the operations of Ferrarini & Benelli, a leading company in the field of surface treatment systems.
Corona surface treatment systems are complex solutions, which improve the characteristics of adhesion of plastic substrates and make them receptive to bonding.
After joining the company in 1995, Ms Benelli took over all business and technical operations and now is managing director. The pillars of her work are R&D and sustainability and she is keen on new technologies.
Packaging MEA (PMEA): Tell us about your journey with the company.
Claudia Benelli (CB): The company was founded by my father, Diego Benelli, in 1965. The field of plastics had as much potential then as it has now and the idea was a success.
Manufacturers of flexible packaging used certain types of substrates because they were affordable, but their quality was poor. They needed corona treatment to improve their characteristics of adhesion and soon our solutions became indispensable.
After I graduated, I started to work in the company in 1995 and slowly took over all operations. From the beginning, it was clear that understanding how our systems are made, strictly from a technical point of view, was key to carve a niche in the market.
So, that is what I did, researching both sales and marketing strategies and technical development, never losing sight of the need to keep up with the times.
To grow, to become better and more innovative, we followed our customers’ lead: if they wanted to use sustainable materials, we improved our systems to accommodate them. If they wanted to cut down on costs and production times, we designed our systems to work non-stop. When they wanted to receive technical consultancy and test their samples, we created an in-house lab.
Everything matters.
PMEA: What would you consider your professional keywords?
CB: Trust is key: when the members of a team trust not only one another, but the vision of the company as well, they convey their confidence to our customers. No professional environment can exist without this component.
Then comes technical competence: we can achieve it by studying not only our own solutions, but our customers’ applications as well.
Flexibility comes next; being able to respond promptly to complex requests and create new tailored solutions.
Sustainability – we have decided to power all the company’s premises with photovoltaic systems. We have joined important projects, such as i-Label, dedicated to creating a sustainable label and reducing waste; our corona treatment systems are equipped with ozone-destruction systems, to comply with the legal limits in terms of emissions of ozone into the atmosphere. Plasma treatment, which we launched about 10 years ago, does not generate any ozone at all.
These are just the ways the entire company contributes in terms of sustainability. I try to do my part, too. I come to work by bike when I can and I love the idea of repurposing old objects and giving them new life.
PMEA: What advice would you give other women who wanted to take the same path as you?
CB: As a woman, especially in a technical field, you need to fight much more to be taken seriously, mainly when you discuss technical aspects of a product. However, the business side and the technical side go hand in hand. Speak up and be confident in your knowledge.
As a woman, I would also encourage to be true to yourself, follow your instincts and adopt a very hands-on approach when it comes to managing your team. For instance, Ferrarini & Benelli is a small business and our team is just like a family, so it was important to create an environment where the well-being of each stakeholder, from employees to customers was a priority.
PMEA: What is something you bring in a male-dominated field?
CB: Personally, I value coordination and attention to detail. I like anticipating questions and I do not hold back when I think a customer needs technical suggestions.
I embrace the idea of conveying technical and complex contents through a more light-hearted and easy-going way, as opposed to more standardised and traditional means of communication.
If chosen carefully, even the smallest detail can make the difference, so my team and I like to think things through and find a solution combining creativity and practicality.
Furthermore, I put great emphasis on intuition, instincts and anticipation when dealing with customers.
Finally, above all, every stakeholder, everyone involved in the process has something valuable to bring to the table: their opinions, points of view and perspectives matter.
PMEA: How challenging was 2020?
CB: It was definitely challenging, but we faced it head on. In 2020 we celebrated a milestone: 55 years in business, even though we obviously did not celebrate it in the true sense of the word.
I decided to take a very hands-on approach when dealing with such life-changing events, by focusing on concrete and immediate needs: preserving the safety and health of the employees was a top priority, of course. Therefore, the first step was to implement measures and guidelines, which could allow the team to work safely and minimise all risks.
We also have continued to communicate with our customers and avoided being held back by the physical distance, which has prevented us from attending exhibitions. We addressed this situation by strengthening our multimedia presence.